The city of Islandia in Miami-Dade County will soon disappear off the map, following a move to abolish the city by a Miami-Dade County Commission. The reason? It has just six residents who live in five houses. Islandia, once a potential development site whose plans were shut down after the establishment of Biscayne National Park, was founded in 1951, but Miami-Dade County now calls it “a city on paper only.” The city is located on Totten Key south of Elliott Key. [SFBJ] [more]

The American Airlines Arena has a state-of-the-art electronic mesh
sign, showing images promoting various events, the kind of digital
advertising developer Mark Sifffin envisions in his plan for two high-rise, electronic media towers
north of the arena. There are questions, however, over whether such
signs meet Miami-Dade County and City of Miami codes, ones that need to
be answered as the city decides how Miami’s skyline will shape up in
the next decade. Miami-Dade County commissioners have sought advice
over whether the arena sign is legal. [SFBJ]

[more]

The Miami-Dade Commission has approved a provision of $3 million to refurbish the Miami Marine Stadium off of the Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key. The 12-0 vote gave the nod to a voter-approved issue of bonds, but the city is required to demonstrate a feasible plan for the project. According to Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, the city should have its plans finished within 18 months, despite that the county granted a five-year period to do so. A private analysis showed that corrosion in the skeleton of the building could mean up to $8.5 million in renovations. [Miami Herald] Comments

• Tweet

Miami-Dade County commissioners have given the go-ahead for $1 million in incentives for a project by a mystery bidder that could be in the range of $230 million. The name of the bidder has been withheld, as has the location of the proposed project. But according to sources, the location is a 2.5-million-square-foot facility at the Opa-Locka Executive Airport. Last week the Beacon Council, the county’s economic development partnership, was said to be wooing an investor for a merchandise-mart-style initiative focused on Asian manufacturers. The incentives could expand with a vote next week. [SFBJ] 1 Comment

• Tweet

Miami-Dade County Commissioners will have the opportunity Tuesday
morning to cancel plans for the new Florida Marlins stadium if the
stadium bonds remain unsold or interest rates are too high, Miami Today
reported. County officials recently pushed the bond sale date for the
stadium back to June 29 and 30. An amendment to the bonding legislation
allows the county, the city or the Marlins to choose to walk away from
the deal without penalty. [more]

Miami-Dade County Commissioners voted today to make Wachovia the first
to be paid of the creditors for the new Marlins stadium. Wachovia is
giving the county a $100 million letter of credit for the stadium
bonds. Commissioners also voted to extend the termination date for the
stadium deal to July 15, giving the Marlins, the county and the city
more time to pull out of the stadium deal. The county will likely sell
the bonds for the stadium within the next two weeks. [more]

Following the county commissioners’ recent extension of a Miami-Dade county freeze on building permits for mobile home park properties, some are worried that the county is exposing itself to lawsuits. The owner of Colonial Acres Mobile Home Park at 9674 NW 10th Avenue has filed a vested rights claim with the county asking for a zoning application to be processed, and some commissioners think the owner may file a lawsuit next. The owner had secured a land use amendment for the park property five days before commissioners began the freeze in 2007. [more]

Miami-Dade County commissioners continued a ban on building mobile home
parks for another five months. Planners say this is a critical section
of affordable housing, but the ban was put up in 2007 to prevent
developers from buying up sites and putting up different projects. [more]

The City of Miami could approve a measure that would more than double
the size of its two redevelopment districts, though it probably won’t
mean more money for the revival of the Omni and Southeast Overtown/Park
West areas. City Commissioners will take up the issue today in a meeting that could
end up increasing the area overseen by the Community Redevelopment
Agency from 514 acres to as much as 1,181 acres. However, as an unelected body funded by property taxes with the purpose
of removing blight and slum and promoting economic development
(including property values) within those two redevelopment districts,
the move would have limited immediate effect on these same blighted
neighborhoods. [more]